Year 6 Term 3 Curriculum Letter
Friday 16th April 2021
Dear Year 6 Parents,
It has been wonderful seeing the school full of vibrant learners this week. The Y6 students are clearly so happy to be back and have enjoyed spending quality time socialising with their friends. It has also been a joy to be teaching face to face and having a return to a full day of ‘in person’ learning opportunities. Thank you for your support with the new learning arrangements – everything has gone extremely smoothly.
This first week back has been a very exciting week as it has seen the students write and publish some fantastic news articles in their journalistic writing unit. The Ecosystems unit has been brought to a close with scientific research into adaptation, life cycles and evolution. Whilst our work on Fractions, Decimals and Percentages has brought some important problem solving skills to our learning focus.
This all now leads us to the learning for the final term of their primary schooling as next week signals the start of several new exciting units of learning.
Discovery:
STEAM Fair (4 Weeks)
In this unit, the children will have the opportunity to think like a scientist, an engineer and a mathematician. They will have the opportunity to bring their critical and creative thinking to an issue that might need a solution or innovation. They will be challenged to reflect on ideas that exist already and transform current thinking through a process of designing, developing and evaluating. This is an exciting opportunity for the children to showcase their investigative skills along with essential communication and collaboration to a wide audience at the DBIS STEAM Fair. We are excited to see how their learning could transform the world!
How can we have a Successful Transition? (6 weeks)
We are only weeks away from the Year 6 children completing their primary school years – six years of Primary and two years of Early Years! The end of era for everyone, but the start of a very new exciting chapter too. We know that the children probably have a huge range of emotions and feelings – no doubt some wonderful memories of the last eight years of this incredible journey of learning and personal development. In this unit, they will be reflecting on thier time in the primary years and how they have helped make shape the children into the people they are today. We will be exploring what can help them be fully prepared for the next stage in their schooling and their life. This is going to be an exciting, and emotional journey as we say goodbye to Primary and hello to Secondary.
English:
Time to Speak up! – Public Speaking
In this unit we will be discovering the power of the children’ss voices! It will provide them with the opportunity to build on the public speaking skills developed in Term 1 during the Leadership Unit. They will have the opportunity to further develop key skills and understanding of how to build an effective speech – drawing on theri own writing, thinking and research. An enquiry into public speaking skills will help the children build a toolbox of strategies that will help grow their confidence and help engage their audience. A fantastic opportunity to have a lot of fun and enjoy the return of the Year 6 Public Speaking Competition.Â
What have you found out? Explanation Texts & Scientific Reporting
Time for Change – Narrative
Class Reader – The Explorer
Maths:
Project XÂ
In this unit we will explore and develop an understanding of the relationship between factors and multiples. Through problem solving and number enquiries, the children will discover how this relationship supports the multiplication and division of fractions. This unit will also delve into the world of Algebra. Enquiries into algebraic representation and problem solving strategies using letters and formulas will be used to help uncover the possibility of numbers and solutions.
Afternoon Activities:
As we have significantly extended the school day and all of the curriculum will be covered through face-to-face teaching, the children will be asked to complete an afternoon activity each day between 2p and 3pm. This is self-directed and the activities will be provided on the Google Classroom.
As you can see we have planned for a very important and exciting time of learning in Term 3. We are sure our wonderfully hard-working and resilient students will rise to the challenges set before them this term as they look to finish their time in the primary school and for some their time at DBIS. An exciting period of change, but always one that is bitter sweet – at least let’s take some comfort with the fact that we get to spend it together face-to-face in the wonderfully warm and supporting environment of DBIS.
Kind regards,
Russell Moriarty, Beverly Hull, Ciaran Gallagher & Catriona Debnam-Sharp.